4 Leadership Types and How You Can Identify Your Own

People often wonder if leaders are born or made. Most of the time, leaders are shaped by their experiences to become the best version of themselves, causing them to step up to the plate whenever needed. This creates a kind of admiration toward them compared to the other existing personality types, encouraging a certain hierarchy to develop within society. After all, their presence commands attention, and there is a natural tendency to follow their every move.

When you find yourself in a leadership role, you might look toward your personal inclination when it comes to your morals. Eventually, this will create a better understanding of the kind of leadership you have. Taking on the significant role of authority is a heavy load to carry, regardless of the level of responsibility assigned.

Once supervision is done well, the efficiency in countries like Singapore can be replicated in whatever company, school, or any other form of collaboration. Moreover, when you are assigned a role in an organization and do it well while exhibiting exemplary leadership skills, you can be promoted to a higher position in the future or chosen for future projects as a leader. This phenomenon can be found in the extensive experiences of seasoned professionals, such as Seah Moon Ming.

Here are some common leadership types and a quick guide on determining where you fit in:

1. Authoritative

If you feel like you are the most qualified in the group to make all the decisions, you might fall into the authoritative category. This occurs when one person is responsible for determining the rules that team members should follow, creating a more linear way of leading. It allows for consistency and economical use of time and resources because the wisest individual in the group will determine the course of action.

However, a problem with this kind of leadership is the non-participation of other people in the decision-making process. This reduces the level of collaboration to be virtually non-existent. So, when the person in charge is deemed unqualified because they make the wrong decisions or the team members find out that they are being treated unfairly by their leader, a mutiny can occur. The leader might find themselves to be eventually demoted or removed from the group entirely.

2. Democratic

Opposite to an authoritative kind of leadership, a democratic method encourages the participation of team members in deciding the actions to take for them to reach their goals. It utilizes each person’s input in the group and, as a result, is often known as participatory leadership. But, you could expect a relatively more time-consuming decision-making process compared to an authoritarian style of leadership. Furthermore, miscommunication can be an additional cause for concern because it will be more frequent in this scenario.

3. Laissez-Faire

For groups comprised of experienced individuals, delegation can be an ideal approach to problem-solving and completing tasks. Since each person has their own area of expertise in a group, this could be considered a relatively more efficient way of handling the different goals. A disadvantage in this leadership style is that the hierarchy is not always clearly defined, possibly causing conflict in the future.

4. Transactional

Establishing a give or take relationship between the leader and other team members reinforces a style of being goal-oriented. Through negative or positive feedback, the hierarchy can be better established, and the line of communication will be a lot clearer. Although this kind of leadership can also cause problems as members feel undervalued since their connection with the leader is only defined through an output-based system.

Which One are You?

Most individuals take on a mix of the aforementioned kinds of leadership or even begin to establish their own brand. For you to identify which sort of supervision you embody, you could try assessing yourself retroactively. If you have had the opportunity to serve as a leader at some point in your life, you can look back and analyze your relationship with your subordinates. Ask yourself if you were considered authoritative by your peers if you allowed them to participate more, if you delegated tasks, if it was merely a give-or-take kind of relationship, or if you established your own leadership style.

Being a leader is challenging, regardless of the situation placed before you. You will carry the burden of making important decisions that affect others. Therefore, you should be responsible, empathetic, and wise.